Drinking to your health
The analysis of Nubian bones has revealed that people were making and consuming antibiotics more than 1500 years ago
The analysis of Nubian bones has revealed that people were making and consuming antibiotics more than 1500 years ago. According to bioarcheologists the drugs appear to have formed part of the dietary regime, most likely as part of their version of beer.
Evidence of tetracycline use in the Nubian population has been reported since the 1980s, but these reports were met with scepticism and claims that this was the result of postmortem taphonomic infiltration of bacteria and fungi. Howev reports the extraction and characterization of tetracycline in bones from 350–550 AD.1
According to the study, the samples were demineralized before the bone-complexed tetracycline was isolated by solid-phase extraction on reversed-phase media. The results of chemical characterization by high pressure liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopic procedures indicate that the bones had been saturated with tetracycline, showing the ancient Nubians had been taking the drug for a long time.
The antibiotic has been tied to the Nubian beer. The researchers have found that the grain used in its production contained the soil bacteria streptomyces, which produce tetracycline.
1. M.L. Nelson et al., Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 143, 151–154 (2010).
This story originally appeared in The Column. Click here to view that issue.
AI and GenAI Applications to Help Optimize Purification and Yield of Antibodies From Plasma
October 31st 2024Deriving antibodies from plasma products involves several steps, typically starting from the collection of plasma and ending with the purification of the desired antibodies. These are: plasma collection; plasma pooling; fractionation; antibody purification; concentration and formulation; quality control; and packaging and storage. This process results in a purified antibody product that can be used for therapeutic purposes, diagnostic tests, or research. Each step is critical to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of the final product. Applications of AI/GenAI in many of these steps can significantly help in the optimization of purification and yield of the desired antibodies. Some specific use-cases are: selecting and optimizing plasma units for optimized plasma pooling; GenAI solution for enterprise search on internal knowledge portal; analysing and optimizing production batch profitability, inventory, yields; monitoring production batch key performance indicators for outlier identification; monitoring production equipment to predict maintenance events; and reducing quality control laboratory testing turnaround time.
